Ohitsujiza: The clan of Rams
by Ohitsujiza-Chan
Summary: There were a few known clans that lived within the hidden leaf village that had connections with animals. The Ohitsujiza Clan were no different but how will they cope when their small clan is put under threat? will it survive with the help of her fellow team? and will Alex be able to keep her clan strong while fighting with her feelings?
1. Chapter 1

"_Kurenai knew too well that a smile can lie but the eyes were the gate way to the soul and the soul never lies."_

There were a few known clans that lived within the hidden leaf village that had connections with animals. There was the Aburame clan with the use of the incests that take residents within their bodies and the Inuzuka clan, who had close ties to Ninken. However there was also a small clan that many in the village tend to see as a normal house hold even when they were far from it. The Ohitsujiza Clan were only know by very few people, but not from the lack of trying. They were a proud clan and the members used their connections to rams in battle. Many in the village found this strange as the ram was known to be violet and angry by nature. While this is true the Ohitsujiza clan knew the true nature of the animal and wore the clan name proud, whether or not other ninja saw it that way was unimportant to them.

Over the years there had been many generations of the clan, all holding the abilities to connected and interact with the rams of their clan as both companions and battle partners. Alex was no different to her ancestors. She held onto her clan proudly and wore it's symbol on her sleeve. As was the typical traits of her clan, she had a short temper which tended to get her into a -lot- of trouble during missions and training, although it never bothered her much. Who it did bother was her team, or more specific Team Kurenai.

That's correct she was on team Kurenai with Shino, Hinata and Kiba. It was no secret that Alex and Kiba had a little rivalry due to their clans being both having the connection with mammals. However as both of them had the type of personality to be loud and obnoxious it never did end well for either of them. More than often than not, sweet Hinata would beg them to stop the yelling, which would make them feel incredible guilty. That wasn't to say they were not friends, by far they were the closest of the team. Many thought it was due to the fact they could both understand the connection their have to their partners, however Shino had the need to point out regularly that it was more likely that they were both obnoxious in their own ways.

"I am not obnoxious!" Was a daily argument that Alex brought up. "I just know I'm right!" She explained proudly as she glared at Shino with her piercing blue tinted eyes. There always seemed to be a permanent smirk on that face of her.

"Can't you be quite for a few moments" Shino exclaimed in his typical monotones voice that showed his dislike for her loud voice.

With that she crossed her arms slightly but not before putting a finger to her lips and glancing at her sensei. Kurenai Yūhi glanced at her team with her lovely smile and let a small laugh escape her lips.

"I see you are all still the same as ever" After being their sensei for many years, she was used to their teasing, bickering and general attitude towards each other that came with being the team leader. This was just how the team acted, to others it may seem that they disliked each other, but she knew better. This was their way of showing their team bond and respect for each other. However she noticed something that was off with her team. It was Alex, there was something wrong with her eyes recently even if it was faint.

'No, it's not her eyes but the pain behind them.' Kurenai thought with worried looked burying into her blood red eyes as she watch Alex smile at her.

Something was changing in the Ohitsujiza clan but she wasn't quite sure what it was, maybe it was nothing and she was just being a worry wart of a sensei but Kurenai knew too well that a smile can lie but the eyes were the gate way to the soul and the soul never lies.

Alex's attitude had turned from her usual confident self to someone who was nervous from the strange look she was getting. Before speaking she glanced at her sensei one more time.

"Kurenai Sensei, is something wrong?"

However before Kurenai had the chance to answer her, Kiba had interrupted.

"Ha! That's how Hinata is around Naruto!" He paused from he's teasing, almost as if the slow cogs in his brain were working for once.

" Maybe you have a crush on Shino!" As those words left his mouth a fist collided with the side of his face and within a second he was on the floor with a loud thump.

"Once again you are wrong,mutt!" Alex growled at him. Her face was going red, not from embarrassment but from pure anger.

Throughout all of his, poor Hinata looked as if she was going to pass out with the thought of Naruto and Shino just shook his head slightly which communicated to everyone on the team that he was annoyed and fed up with their messing around.

It didn't take very long for Alex's anger levels to drop back down to zero and she smiled brightly back at her emotional drained sensei.

"As I was saying before I was -Rudely Interrupted- interrupted by the mutt, you were looking at me strange"

"Oh nothing at all, I was just waiting for your daily fight with Kiba to be over."

When there was enough silence and Kiba was back on his feet, Kurenai began to explain why they were all gathered together.

"We are going to train as a team! You have all come a long way from them small genin that you once were and with three of you having the aid of animals, I believe it's time that you were able to work as one. As for you Hinata. I wish for you to practise controlling that Byakugan of yours.

Kurenai decided that Shino and Hinata would train together, which left Kiba and Alex to train.

"Are you ready to taste the dirt, little ram?" Alex spun around and pointed at Kiba before replying to him.

"I'm afraid it will be you who is to fall first, mutt!"

They both laughed at their little speech and got down to training. It turned out to be very productive, at least more than they thought it would. Alex got more out of it than her teammate did, as she a little weaker than the mutt. It wasn't by much however she knew she needed to get stronger and thrived to one day beat her doggy friend to prove that her clan was capable of being on the same level as his.

Alex sat down on her knees to catch her breath and spoke through her breathing.

"Let's..carry..on"

Kiba shook his with a crooked smile plastered on his face.

"No way,little ram. You've used quite a lot of chakra, plus what your your mother say if we let you go back all ruffed up,huh"

His expression changed from a smug to a pretend terrified face and Alex found it had to figure out whether it was real or not.

"She can be terrifying!"

Alex huffed slightly and slowly brought herself to her feet, she knew he was right about it all. Her mother would not be happy but then again would it matter? She needed to be stronger to carry on her clans name and she was determined to make everyone know and respect the Ohitsujiza clan.

"Fine, you win"

As the team split up to carry on with the rest of their day, Hinata waved goodbye with her sweet smile, Kiba ruffled Alex's hair which she didn't appreciate in the slightest and Shino just stood there, looking at Alex.

Once she had caught her breath and spun around with her fluffy ram in her arms, she turned around and blinked at Shino with a confused look on her face.

"What are you doing here still doing here,bug boy ?" She grinned at him with her teasing smile.

"I told you not to call me that" He stated as her looked at her from behind his blacked out glasses.

"That doesn't answer my question,Shino" She smirked as she put emphasis on his name.

He nodded slightly and began to walk "Are you coming? Our households are close"

Alex nodded and joined him at his side. As they walked in silence she thought about how the training went, it must have been apparent that this was the case as Shino spoke up for the first time in a while.

"It didn't go that bad, you know" He glanced at her before putting his hands back in his pockets.

"Hm" She was still in her own little world as she thought about what she could of done to improve. She remembered the saying that Lee would always yell at her with enthusiasm whenever they trained '_Be Stronger than you were yesterday_' Shino shook his covered head slightly went back to his silent self until they arrived at the forked path to their respected households.

"See you, bug boy!" She waved her hand at him as she walked down towards her house with a smile on her face and a little noises erupting from shoku the ram, who was nuzzling into her open grey coat.

Shino make a little tutting sound of exhaustion and carried on back to his own clan. It wasn't only Kurenai that noticed the pain behind her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

_'The pressure of keeping the main branch of the clan safe was on her shoulders and she would do everything in her power to save her clan.'_

It didn't take long for the silence of the walk to turn into a mixture of rustling and talking that filled the wooden building Alex called home. She slipped off her shoes and walked through the long hallway towards the stairs. As she reached the bottom of the stairs she heard some muttering coming from the kitchen, however she ignored it as she presumed that it would be her parents conversing. She jogged up the narrow stairs and slid the door to her room open before closing it behind her. She let out a deep,exhausted breath and fell onto her bed, looking up at the ceiling and muttering to herself.

"I still need to be better than I was yesterday, better than I was an hour ago"

She turned her head towards her low placed window and watched a few merchants walk past her house with their goods.

" I have to be strong, for the team and for my clan" She nodded to herself determinedly, looking at her reflection in the window. She sat up and leaned on the window sill and glanced over at Shino's large house in the near distance.

"Hang on"

Alex thought she saw something odd over by his window, however she assumed it was just her eyes messing with her mind and so she just laid down with her eyes closed.

"Just a few minutes sleep with get my energy back up, I'm sure" and so with that she drifted into a shallow sleep.

Her power nap didn't seem to last long, as she was woken by her father pushing her door open. With the sound she leaped up and bowed gently.

"Hello, Father. Is there something you needed?"

Alex's father; Zero Ohitsujiza watched his daughter with a stern look.

"Alex, I heard that you have not improved in training recently" He did not seem to be happy, however it seemed to be something other than what he was stating.

"I'm sorry, Father. I am trying, I just need to work harder and I will.I promise. I will hold our clan up in pride"

He nodded at her and gestured for her to sit and she obeyed his command.

"As we both know this isn't why I am here, I am assumed that you have heard that our family is being pressured to produce a next of kin to take over my place as head of the house once I need to step down. However throughout our history it has always been male other wise the branch family will have the right to own the clan. To over come this, you must master your kekkei genkai with shoku before the offspring of my brother masters his"

Alex's eyes were trying to hide her pain and distress. There was no way she would be able to master her kekkei genkai by then after all she struggled with it daily and although she had made incredible progress, she was no where near mastering it. While she struggled her cousin was so close to mastering it and more.

"Yes, father" She hung her head slightly as thoughts started to flood her head. What was she going to do? If she failed her family would be in danger as well as her house.

"Just remember Alex, we are counting on you" And with that he left. As the door shut behind him she fell back on her bed and forced the tears back, there was no way she would let this be her weakness.

The pressure of keeping the main branch of the clan safe was on her shoulders and she would do everything in her power to save her clan. It was common knowledge to those in her clan that the side branch of the family had a need to take over the clan and change everything that the clan is known for, which caused Alex even more distress.

After composing herself she looked back out of her window with doubt swamping her blue eyes in tears. As she glanced out the window she noticed something that was out of place, a small beetle perched between the window and the sill. Not only was it a beetle but she noticed it looked like one that Shino kept close to him. Her eyebrows knitted together as she reached out her hand to let it onto her. She brought it up to her eye level and sighed.

"Hey, Little guy. Your Shino's aren't you? Well you tell him that if he thinks about listening to my private clan conversations one more time his bugs won't have a body to take host in"

She paused and glanced out of the window before continuing.

"And if he even repeats any of what he heard from my father to Sensei, the last thing he will see is my fist" She let the beetle fly out the windows before growling gently and making a thud as she hit her bed face down. Before too long shoku had pushed her way into Alex's arms and they both fell into a deep sleep.

Shino stared at his window with a slightly frown as her listen to what his beetle had to say. He didn't know what he was going to hear but it wasn't ready for that. If he couldn't tell their sensei then what was he meant to do? He wouldn't normally care however this was one of his neighbouring clans and a comrade. If Alex was going to be in danger something must be done. He came to the conclusion to leave it until after their next mission before doing anything, after all the other branch had to master his kekkei genkai too and that's not easy. All of his thinking never once changed his facial expressions.


	3. Chapter 3

_'Luckily for them he had his own limits unlike a certain blonde haired boy they knew'_

Although Alex was battling to keep both her clan and her safe from harm she didn't let it interrupt her duties as a ninja of the hidden leaf. If it was necessary to keep her village and comrades safe then she would pretend nothing was wrong, and hope to the Hokage that Shino bit his lip when it came to what he overheard. After all they were on their way to retrieve a mission from Lady Hokage and Alex didn't want him blabbering about her clan life, then again this was Shino and blabbering wasn't quite his style.

Once the whole team was present, Lady Hokage gave them the brief of their B Rank mission. It shocked them all, although Hinata looked delighted once she found out.

" This mission is quite different from what you are used to. You are being put on guard duty for the Hokage's daughter of the night of her sixteenth birthday ball in the Hidden Grass Village. You are expected to dress and act accordantly. This is a very important mission so there is to be no slacking, however you must blend in so do what you will. Is that clear!?" She looked at each one of the team separately before dismissing the team. Once they were outside Kiba let out a large groan.

"Does that mean we have to act all fancy?!" He exclaimed while kicking the dirt path gently.

"Yes and both of you guys must do a good job of it too. Let's do this job right!" Alex beamed and clenched her fist. The stress and pain was still in her eyes, however she was using this mission as an excuse to increase the strength of her kekkei genkai and relax a little.

After an hour of Alex and Hinata packing the bag for the mission, the team met at the gates of the village. As the girls approach the boys, Alex could see the look of distress plastered all over Kiba's face and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Kiba, what's wrong? You don't want to dress up like a true gentlemen" She paused before continuing.

" If that's even possible"

Alex let a grin glaze over her lips before it turned to a look of anger as Kiba ruffed her black hair before replying to her.

"Says you. We've only ever seen each other in our mission gear"

Shino looked over his team with a sigh.

"Let's get on with it shall we? It takes four days to get to the hidden grass village"

With that the team nodded and waved good bye to their sensei. The look in Kurenai's eyes as Alex beamed at her was one of worry, she still wasn't sure what was happening to the hyperactive girl but she knew it wasn't good.

The journey to the hidden grass village went by without any hiccups as planned. The only interactive activity the team shared during the silence of the forests was Kiba constantly reminding Alex that if she kept reading while jumping from tree to tree she would fall. Of course he was correct and she did miss place her feet a few times but she was more interested in reading the theory behind her kekkei genkai that her father had given her than paying attention to what she was meant to be doing.

Four days later the team arrived at the village. It was a beautiful village that had no shortage of lush, green grass. Though that didn't come to Alex as a surprise considering where they were. As she walked through the gates to the village, she could feel Shino's gaze burrowing through the back of her head and into her mind. It was as if he was trying to read her mind, however she was too tired from the trip to the village and wasn't quite in the mood to deal with him and his ridiculous logic.

Once they had make it to the meeting point and collected the rest of the mission they departed to explore the small village. With the mission starting that night, the team had a few hours to kill before their work would start. With this time they all decided to spent it in different ways. Kiba had bolted off with Akamaru at the first sign of freedom and the rest of the team didn't want to know what kind of trouble they would be getting up to. Luckily for them he had his own limits unlike a certain blonde haired boy they knew, or at least once knew as they had not seen him in over a year.

"I'll make sure he doesn't get in any trouble" Hinata said before rushing over to follow the pair.

Alex turned to Shino with a small smile on her lips.

"I guess that leaves us two then." Before she was able to ask him if her wanted to spent this time exploring the village with her, he had turned around and walked off which caused her smile to mutate into a frown.

"Hey!" She ran after him and walked beside his covered up form.

"You know, Shino. If you didn't want to there is a word called no. Honestly" She glanced at him gently as her eyes twitched slightly. He was not on her good side today.

After a few moments he finally decided to speak up, however he decided to ignore her words.

"You should use this time to improve on your skills, after all you don't want your clan to fall, do you?"

With that he walked off and left Alex standing there with a shocked look on her face. She had so much pent up anger towards him recently and this situation just added towards it. She couldn't believe how rude he was, of course she was used to his blunt words and logic but her clan was sore spot and after what he had over heard he knew that. The tears that she had been holding back started to trickle down her pale cheeks. She knew he was right though, she needed to carry on training even if she was in a different village and so with the last few hours she had spare until the mission began Alex trained until her body couldn't take it any more.


	4. Chapter 4

_'Alex couldn't believe her eyes, was this real? It felt as if she was about to wake up from a dream'_

Hinata had spent the last hour of her free time away from Kiba and decided to walk around her new environment when she came across Alex laying down beside a tree after her intense training session. Alex had a frown in-bedded into her face as she thought about how she could keep improving rather than letting her clan fall to pieces. The vision of the main branch falling to their knees clouded her mind and it made her anger levels rise to a new level.

"Dam it!" she yelled as her foot involuntarily kicked the truck of the tree with great force.

As Hinata began to walk towards her, she noticed that Alex began to rise from her laying down position and so she hid behind a tree to watch her.

"One more time! I can do this, Shoku let's go!" She shouted with enthusiasm as her small ram jumped out of the back of her coat.

Alex closed her eyes and took a deep breath before forming the required hand signs in rapid succession.

" Ram eclipse!" She yelled and Shoku transformed into a large battleaxe that was enveloped in light blue chakra. Alex seemed to nod which gave the impression that it was going well.

"Okay and for the next step" she muttered.

As she crunched her face up slightly in concentration the chakra she had covered the blade in began to transform it's nature to one of small blue flames. However with all this concentration her chakra and energy levels were quickly depleting and before she had the chance to complete the next step of her clans kekkei genkai the power had gone and the once sharp blade was back to being a white fluffy ram. With this Hinata came out from the tree and walked over to Alex with a small smile on her lips.

" That's a lot better than it used to be, Alex. Don't worry there's no rush, right?"

How could she lie to that innocent face? She knew that telling Hinata would mean that everyone would eventually find out and she wasn't in the position to bring the whole team down because of her problems and so she put on a fake smile and nodded slightly.

"I guess your right, Hinata. I just don't want to be a burden to you all" And with that Alex stood back up and smirked gently.

"Speaking of the team we should be meeting the the whole team at the ball' venue to receive our clothing for the mission." Alex added.

"your right, that's why I'm here. I thought we could go there together."

As they both nodded at each other and with a small laugh they linked arms and walked towards the meeting area together. Alex and Hinata had always been a very close as a pair. It didn't take much for Alex to make friends with people she met, well that was if they could get passed her obnoxious personality. Luckily for her Kiba and Hinata both saw the good in her heart and accepted her a their friend and team mate. Although Shino didn't openly express his affection for his team mates, they all knew that he saw them as both comrades and friends. They were the perfect search team and friends.

Once the pair had arrived at the venue they received their outfits for the ball and entered the changing rooms that had been prepared for them. Alex entered her own small cubical and unzipped the clothes bag that surrounded her dress. Her eyes scanned the teal coloured dress that was hanging in front of her. From observations she could see that it would stop just above her knees and seemed to flow out gently and she nodded as if she was approving of the choice. As she slipped off her mission clothes and untied the knot that kept her headband hanging around her neck she called out to Hinata.

"How is your dress, Hinata?" Alex said as she hooked her headband around the hanger.

"It's lovely, I'll show you in a minute"

"OK"

After the two had pulled on their dresses they both walked out into the exterior changing room area and smiled at each other. Both Alex and Hinata had the same style of dress on but in different colours, Hinata's was a beautiful pale purple that matched her eyes perfectly.

It was almost as the assistants that were ordered to make the team look the part had known that the girls had finished getting dressed as they rushed in and attacked them with brushes and make-up. After they had finished their ambush, Alex looked over into the full length mirror that coated one of the room's walls. She wasn't used to this fuss as most ninjas are more focused on their duties and training that how they look. Needless to say that she didn't enjoy it. If anything she did think she looked lovely like this, but how some women do this every day was beyond her. The assistance had brought her black hair into small ringlets that fell down her back with ease. Her skin was usually pale and now wasn't a special case, however her skin was flawless and it made her look angel-like.

Alex turned around to Hinata with a smile. "Shall we?"

Hinata nodded at her with a nodded before linking arms once again and walking out of the changing room towards the ball room.

"We have to remember that we are here to protect the Hokage's daughter, but there's not reason we can't have some fun" Alex stated as they entered the room. She scanned the room before her eyes landed on the two boys.

Once she saw them, she gasped slightly and Hinata followed suit. Alex couldn't believe her eyes, was this real or just one of her day dreams? It felt as if she was about to wake up from a dream.

Under Alex's breath she muttered in shock as her cheeks heated up. "Shino"


	5. Chapter 5

_'What is this feeling, my heart is beating so fast. Am I ill?' She thought to herself as the boys finally stood in front of them, however her deep thought was cut short as Kiba began to ask Alex to dance.'_

Alex couldn't believe her eyes as she stared at a boy she could only recognize by his light brown hair that seemed to spike upwards without any help. She knew that he would have to look as ordinary as possible for the mission but she didn't expect him to take off his glasses as well as his high collared coat. As both Shino and Kiba made their way over to the girls Alex seemed to go into a trance. All that she could see was Shino and the intense look that clouded his eyes. It was as if there was no one else but them and that he was her saviour to take her back to a beautiful haven away from this world. Nothing seemed to matter in those first moments that she saw the real him but them.

'What is this feeling, my heart is beating so fast. Am I ill?' She thought to herself as the boys finally stood in front of them, however her deep thought was cut short as Kiba began to ask Alex to dance. However he was rudely interrupted by Shino, who without a word decided to drag Alex away from their team mates and onto the dance floor. The look on her face was one of confusion and surprise. Everything was moving so quickly for her. One moment she was on a mission with her comrades and then next she was trying to control the thoughts about Shino that flooded her mind. Before she had time to even think about the words to say, Shino had spoken.

"We're going to dance-" Before there was a moment to spare he added.

"For the mission"

Alex was still bewildered by what was happening. Her heart was pounding a mile a minute and she knew if she got any closer to Shino, his beetles would pick up the difference in her heart rate. Whether they did or not, it was hard for Alex to tell as Shino had not mentioned it yet. She couldn't help herself from staring at his eyes. They were not what she was expecting from him, then again she didn't really know what to expect. Her, along with the rest of the team had spent their time in the academy and through becoming Chūnins together, but not once had the opportunity to see what was behind those glasses that Shino was so desperate to wear. It had always been a curiosity of hers. It was the same temptation as it was for Naruto and Sakura to see behind the mask that Kakashi Sensei wore. As much as she wanted to see those eyes of his, she never thought it would come true and now that she was looking at them, she didn't know what to do. However it became apparent to her that she must have been staring at him for a while, since when she snapped out of her day dream they were still dancing but Shino had a slightly black aura surrounding him. Alex couldn't help but let out a quite laugh and smiled at him awkwardly.

"Sorry, Shino but you know I've never seen your eyes and they are not what I would expect from you."

"I didn't want to, but for the sake of the mission I had to. Don't get used to it. You'll never see them again"

Maybe he was right, she might not see them again but Alex wasn't one to take this challenge lying down.

"Oh really? I bet you I will see them again one day when the leaf is a peaceful place" And with that she let a smirk slide onto her lips as they danced.

Dancing wasn't quite her style however the main point of the mission wasn't for the dancing but protecting the Hokage's daughter. Alex glanced around the room to scan for any trouble arising. Nothing came to her intimidate attention but as her eyes landed on Kiba trying to dance with Hinata she let out a little chuckle. She was glad that she wasn't the only one having problems with the dancing portion of the mission as it looked like Kiba was having monstrous problems with stepping on Hinata's feet which caused her to politely whimper in pain.

After Alex's little fit of laugher that was caused by watching Kiba constantly getting frustrated with the dancing, the space surrounding Shino and Alex remained silent for the rest of the dance, which gave Alex time to think about what what happening with her. She hadn't been effected by someone other than the pain that her father had been bringing her recently due to her clans unknown future then Shino had in the last ten minutes. There was something else going on within her heart that she either didn't know about or refuse to believe due to her stubborn nature. Most likely it was due to the face that she was a very stubborn girl and refused to believe anything that she didn't understand. She was like Naruto in the sense, she didn't quite care about things that she didn't understand. However unlike that blonde brat she knew how to handle herself and create a situation to dissolve any tension.

As the song ended Shino stepped away from Alex. She felt his gaze hover over her for a few moments which caused her cheeks to burn red against her pale skin, however before she had any time to react he had moved away and left her standing there as if she was a body without a soul or purpose. She snapped out of her trance as she felt Hinata's hand leading her off the dance floor.

"Alex are you OK? You seem out of it?" Hinata glanced at her friend with worrying eyes.

Alex didn't want to worry the girl as she didn't even know what was wrong herself so she just smiled and nodded gently.

"Of course, I was just caught of guard by Shino's eyes is all. "

"Well, we should get back to our mission"

Alex nodded at her statement, after all the whole reason they were at this ball was to protect the guest of honour. At the moment there didn't seem to be much to worry about until Kiba jogged over to the two girls with a worried look smeared all over his face as he sniffed the air franticly.

"We have a big problem!"


	6. Chapter 6

_"Oh don't moan, I couldn't stand these things and if we run into trouble I don't want to be falling over."_

It took Kiba a few seconds to push forward with the situation as it seemed that he was trying to confirm what he was smelling.

"There's a strange smell in the air, it's only faint so my guess is that it's not meant to be detected by people without sensitive noses"

Alex stared at him before whacking his arm hard with a frown developing on her face.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Kiba yelled as he rubbed his arm,

"That's great and everything, Kiba but you could tell us what your smelling?!"

"Oh right that!"

Shino rolled his eyes slightly before speaking.

"What is it? Some sort of poison?"

Kiba nodded and sniffed the air briefly.

"If I was to make a guess, I'd say it is going to be used to knock us out so that who ever it is can take the guest of honour"

The whole team nodded and glanced at Hinata.

"Hinata, can you use your Byakugan to see anyone or anything that is out of place?" Shino asked her.

With his words she nodded and focussed her chakra onto her Byakugan and scanned the room slowly. After a few moments she spoke up.

"There is a strange figure hiding up in the south east vent"

She turned around and spoke again.

"There is also another two figures outside the main door, while one is round the back."

She dispelled the chakra and looked at the group.

"I think Kiba is right but what should we do?"

Being the groups stable and thoughtful thinker, Shino decided that the best plan of action was to first stop the poison from entering the air.

"First we need to find out if the poison is being slowly released or if it will be activated when ever they want it." He looked at Alex with a stern look.

"Alex, is Shoku with you right now?" With this shook her head.

"No, but I can summon her. It will only take a little bit of chakra to bring her here, so it wouldn't be a problem." Before continuing she paused to think about what he plan was and within moments it was as if a bright light bulb was guiding her thinking.

"Oh I get it! You want Shoku and I to find the source of this poison right? I mean our noses are not the strongest but it will be easy for us to go unseen with my training. "

It was as if all three of them were suppressing a face palm as she spoke and the black aura that surrounding Shino earlier suddenly had been transferred to Alex but it was as if Shino had already forgotten about this and carried on with the plan.

"No, you and Kiba need to work together, with both of your instincts and partners you will be able to find the source and get rid of it with ease. As for Hinata." He turned to her before speaking.

"Handle the opponents to the back of the building, while my bugs and I handle the two in the front. We will leave the one in the vents until the time arises."

And with that the team split up to complete their various goals. Alex and Kiba walked off together through the large exit doors to the ball room and entered the corridor. Before they went any further Alex stopped.

"I can summon Shoku from here but before that" She could feel Kiba groan as she pulled of the ridiculous shoes that she had been given for the ball.

"Oh don't moan, I couldn't stand these things and if we run into trouble I don't want to be falling over."

She closed her eyes and bit her thumb gently, not to hard but just enough to draw blood. As she pressed it to the ground a sun pattern formed on the ground and as she spoke the words 'summon' Shoku appeared in a small cloud of smoke that quickly dissipated. Alex bent down and picked up Shoku who decided to sit on top of her head.

"OK, now we are ready"

Kiba looked quite impatient as he waited for her to finish and to Alex's surprise Akamaru was already standing next to him, which caused a light huff to leave her mouth.

"Where did he come from?!" She stated as she pointed to the white dog who was wagging his tail.

Kiba laughed slightly and grinned "Please"

Alex looked completely confused, which caused Kiba to laugh again.

"We don't have time for this, we better find the source of this poison before it's activated."

Alex nodded at his words. He was right, if the poison was activated then their job would instantly become harder by ten fold. All they had to do right now was immobilize their enemies and stop the poison in it's tracks but they never put too much thought into how hard that might be. Alex and Shoku ran behind Kiba and Akamaru as they decided to use the their noses to guide them to the source of the poison. It was a good plan, after all the poison would be a large concentration at it's source and therefore have a stronger smell.

"How's the search going? Are we getting any closer?" Alex asked as they made their way up a sent of stairs towards the higher levels of the building.

"I keep loosing the scent but I'm sure we are on the right track, just hold on" He shouted back to her as he picked up the pace.

It didn't take much for Alex to keep up with Kiba, however she had to hold onto Shoku so they she wouldn't be left behind. The boys may have the strong noses of the group, but Alex and Shoku had the advantage of strength and speed which made her a good asset to the team.

"found it!" Kiba yelled as he bolted down a narrow corridor.

"It's this way"

"Got it"

Alex ran after him and it didn't take long for her own nose to pick up a faint stench that seemed to be coming from inside the last door on the second floor.

"This must be it"

However before they had the chance to open up the door it was busted open from the inside, which sent Alex flying into the wall of corridor and with a ground she began to pick herself up slowly.

"Alex!" Kiba yelled as he stared at the large man standing in-between the comrades.


	7. Chapter 7

_'Hinata couldn't make out any of his facial features or any details which she would be able to distinguish later on as he was covered from head to toe in a strange material she had never seen before.'_

"Byakugan!" Hinata yelled confidently as she searched for the exact position of her foe.

As she pin pointed his position and calculated the correct tactic to use she sneaked past the back door and turned the corridor corner. It was here that sat a window that was slightly out of place. Unlike it's friends, this window was slightly broken. A normal person wouldn't of been able to see that this window had a small crack that separated the glass from the window sill. However Hinata was not only a ninja but a member of the Hyūga clan and therefore had better visuals than many other ninjas at her level. With the help of her byakugan and her special training she was able to find this small detail, which could ultimately be used to carry out her mission.

Hinata gently cohoxed the window to separated fully from it's frame without it shattering. She placed it against the wall so that she would be able to put it back when she has completed her part of the mission and return to Shino. She jumped through the hole with ease and landed on the grass on the other side with little noise. As soon as she had landed she pushed her back against the wall and shimmed against it slightly to stay out of the view of the man she was meant to be defeating, but she wanted to get close enough so that she could hear what he was doing.

It was at this point that Hinata decided to use her byakugan again to see what the man looked like. It took a lot of her will power to suppress a gasp from escaping her mouth as she saw the man fully. He was a short, slim man. Hinata couldn't make out any of his facial features or any details which she would be able to distinguish later on as he was covered from head to toe in a strange material she had never seen before. Although it was skin tight it didn't give her any features to identify him from. The look of his outfit reminded her of the olive green suit that Rock Lee wore, however this one covered his face and only left two small holes for his eyes. It was apparent from the first glance that he must of had chakra of a wind nature as there was a slightly breeze that surrounded this man's feet as he walked around.

From what Hinata could see, he was guarding the back door for the building.

' Maybe he is making sure no one gets out, rather than keeping people out' She thought to herself as she observed the man's actions. It took a while for Hinata to rack her brain and come up with a plan of action. Even after a good five minutes she still couldn't think of anything and so she thought the best action she could take was to use her kekkei genkai as her advantage and so with that thought in mind she put her plan into place. Hinata used her force to push herself off the ground and with a jump she landed behind her enemy. Her first plan of action was to use her gentle fist technique to block some of his chakra points so that she would have the advantage for the battle, however as she went in for the first moved she was pushed back by a gust of wind and slammed into a tree.

"Did you think it would be that easy,girly?!" He said as he cackled.

Before Hinata was able to get back onto her feet he was already producing hand signs - Tiger, Rabbit, Dog, Ram and Dragon.

"Wind style, Wind blade Technique!" As soon as he had shouted these words a dozen sharp blades forced their way into Hinata's skin in various places over her body. It was clear that she was in pain from the high pitched scream that she made and the blood that was dripping from the wounds that the wind blades had made. As the blades lost their form she stood up and coughed before looking her foe dead in the eyes.

"I will not be a burden to my team! Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!" She yelled as the ground below them began to darken and the green pattern that came with the the technique surrounded them. Before he knew what was going on she had hit him with the first round of hits. It was obvious that he was trying to think of a way to counteract the hits that he was receiving, however with every hit, he was being forced back with great power that it was hard for him to overcome. Once the attack was over, he was unable to produce any chakra and fell to he ground, unconscious.

After Hinata had make sure he wouldn't be waking up any time soon, she leaned against the tree to catch a little of her breath. Although her fight was over, the mission was still in motion for the others and she wondered how the others were. She had no worries about Shino, if anything he was most likely finished with the two he was meant to deal with. Hinata couldn't of been more correct about him.


	8. Chapter 8

_'Luckily for Alex and Kiba were very similar and the time they had spent together since there were children had brought about a bond between the two ninjas were their natures complimented each other in such a way that the result of their combination technique was incredibly destructive.'_

"It's just a scratch!" Alex replied as she stood up from the impact and wiped a trickle of blood away from her cheek.

She looked over their opponent. There was a strange aura coming from the man standing in front of her and that wasn't a good sign in her books. It took Alex a few moments to realize this but she was hundred percent sure that Kiba had already caught on to this aura from it's sent. With a slightly unsure tone to her voice she asked Kiba a question.

"Hey,Kiba"

He rolled his eyes as he heard the wavering tone to her voice. "where's the confident Alex gone"

With that she yelled at him full force which knocked but Kiba and their large boned foe out of place.

"I'm right here, you mutt! What I was going to say is do you feel that aura!?" She left out a huff as she glared at the man in front of her, almost daring him to move.

"Obviously, it's like a water aura or something like that"

"that's what I thought too, which is bad news for me"

"and good news for me!"

The man in-between the two had finally had enough of the talking and punched his fist through the wall with a jet of water.

"Enough of this chatting, time for you both to die!"

A smirk slipped onto Alex's lips as she formed the stance to prepare for her first attack.

"You would think so, wouldn't you? I wouldn't underestimate the Ohitsujiza clan"

Before Kiba was able to stop her she had started forming the correct hand signs.

"Tiger! Dragon! Hare Ram!"

"No, Alex you haven't mastered that yet!" But it was too late for Kiba to stop her.

"Ninja Art: Ohitsujiza Ram Eclipse!" As the words left her lips the Kekki Genkki had begun and the once small ram that stood beside her had transformed into a battle axe that was coated in a thick layer of chakra.

"Stop, you know you can't hold the next part for more than a few seconds"

"then I'll have to make that count" Alex was determined to prove that she could be an asset to her comrades and the village. As much as that would normally be a admirable trait, now wasn't the time to try to prove something but being the stubborn girl she was, she didn't listen.

The concentration she was putting her body through was shown clearly on her face as the chakra on the weapon she was wielding began to take the shapes of small flames. Even with the nature of chakra she had naturally it wouldn't be a match against the water nature that this man in front of her possessed but it was worth a shot in her mind even if it failed.

"Make it count" She mumbled to herself and she charged forwards towards her foe, however as she was in range to give a direct hit to his chest he stopped the blade with his hands. Alex tried desperately to push through the struggle and make contact but it was no use, he was stronger than she was and so she jumped backwards. Just as Kiba had predicted the flames were gone and she was already in a state of exhaustion from the sheer amount of chakra she had to release for that jutsu.

Kiba mental hit himself for not stopping her from making a ridiculous mistake and nodded at Akamaru before using their fang over fang technique. As the man that resembled a bull was still concentrating on Alex, Kiba made direct contact which knocked him through the wall and across the room that they were attempting to enter. Once he was out of sight Kiba ran over to Alex.

"I told you not to do that! It looks like he's got water nature chakra which means your fire nature is almost pointless. Don't you have anything that's not fire!?."

Alex looked up at him with a frown. "Sure, I have clones"

As she spoke she placed her hand on the cut on her face and began to heal it to stop the bleeding.

"But you know I'm the medical ninja of our team, I haven't got much that isn't fire or healing! My chakra control may be excellent but that's about it. It's either fire or combination jutsu!"

This battle was already taking it's toll on her but before she could finish healing her already open wound, their foe had come back with vengeance and slammed Alex into the ground with the use of his water jutsu. As she connected with the ground she let out a hair raising scream which caused both Kiba and Akamaru to whimper from the noise. Having two emotional driven ninja working together wasn't the best strategy Shino could of come up with but if Alex and Kiba knew anything it was how to use their chakra natures together.

It took a great deal of effort for Alex to bring herself back up to her feet after that attack and her words were straining to leave her mouth as she said them.

"Kiba, formation C"

Those words were all that Kiba needed to understand what she was thinking. Formation C was their trump card and was to only be used in certain situations. The process involved combining Kiba's Earth nature with Alex's Fire nature. When a Earth and Fire nature chakra combine, it can produce different results depending on the two individuals wielding the chakra. If the Earth nature is dominant over the fire then it will produce a effect that is similar to a stable volcano. If the fire is dominant over the Earth then the volcano will become unstable. However when the Earth and Fire natures are on equal terms the results is far more effective and creates a controlled reaction. Luckily Alex and Kiba were very similar and the time they had spent together since there were children had brought about a bond between the two ninjas could use in battle. Their natures complimented each other in such a way that the result of their combination technique was incredibly destructive. They both joined hands and synchronized their chakra before simultaneously speaking the incantation of the jutsu.

" Collaboration Technique: Scared Earth Manipulation! " Once those words had been spoken a wave of lava washed over their foe.

This jutsu was created by the two friends to combine their complimenting natures for a situation like this, however Alex had used the last slither of her chakra and she was loosing conciousness quickly. She lost her balance and began falling towards the bubbling lava. Although it was disappearing due to half of the casting team being so exhausted to keep going. Without a second thought Kiba leaped out and grasped her so that she wouldn't fall a victim of more pain that she was already going through. As they crashed into the floor beside the hazardous liquid her vision began to fade away and the last thing she heard was Kiba yelling at her that Hinata and Shino were on there way.


	9. Chapter 9

_'One that would drive even the most experience and brave shinobi to go insane and it was one Alex could not take.'_

A bright light was pushing it's way through the darkness that clouded Alex's vision. It felt as if she had fallen asleep but what was this pain she was feeling? How could anyone call asleep when their body feeling as if it had been crushed under a house. It was at this point that Alex realized she hadn't been asleep but rather she had black out during the mission in village hidden in the grass. Then why couldn't she open her eyes? It was like her eyes had been glued shut and she couldn't move her body. It was at this point that Alex began to panic.

'Why can't I move at all?' This thought circled her mind over and over before another wave of voices began to ring in her ears.

"Man, is she awake yet?!" It was Kiba, she would be smiling if she could. He was always a loud mouth that brought her an incredibly amount of happiness.

"Kiba, don't be so loud. Alex is still out of it. I just wanted to change the flowers by her bed"

That was Hinata's voice but flowers? Alex doesn't have flowers by her bed. Or for the matter of fact she was in a bed?! All of these thoughts began to cloud her mind in confusion.

"Sorry, Hinata but she's been out for days now. When is she going to wake up, Shoku is missing her"

It was the confirmation that Alex needed. After the damage she received during the mission she must of been out for a few days as a results of the incident.

"The damage was hardly something to kid about, she'll need time." As those words fell on her ears her heart started to pound. there was no denying that Shino had a strange effect on her since she laid her eyes on his. Alex needed to wake up, no it wasn't that her body wanted to but her mind wanted to wake up but that was result of being a stubborn girl who followed her heart instead of her head. She slowly opened her eyes but the bright sunlight that had eluded her company for the last few days was coming to her with vengeance but it wasn't until she spoke that her comrades realized she was awake.

"Will you shut up, Shino. I was trying to sleep" With a small smirk combined with the grogginess of her lengthen sleep, she sat up but not without wincing in pain.

At the sound of her pain Hinata immediately tried to stop her but to no prevail.

"Please be careful. Your really hurt."

Alex couldn't help but laugh at how much Hinata cared for her. It was no surprise to anyone that Hinata was the first one to realize she was awake, however the look on the sweet girls face caused Alex's hard exterior to soften slightly. The tears that started to form in Hinata's glazed eyes were enough to make even a grown man quiver.

"Hinata, I'm OK. Really. A few cuts and scraps aren't going to keep this girl down."

"It's more than just a few cuts" As soon as Hinata had spoke those words she activated her byakugan.

"You have severe damage to a few points in your chakra network. It's healed slightly with the help of Sakura but your not in a good shape."

Alex waved her hand in the air as if it was nothing.

"I've been through worse! Like I said no need to worry." As Alex smiled she noticed that her comrades all seemed to have a strange look on their face. Well that was all expect Shino who looked the same as always.

"What's wrong with you all? You look like someone has died!" Nothing could of prepared her for the looks of grief she got from Hinata and Kiba. It didn't take Alex long to catch on to the fact that something had gone on while she was out.

Before she could ask any question Kurenai Sensei walked into the room with such a distort and saddening look on her face that it cause Alex to slump down in guilt. It was at this point she knew something terrible had been happening.

"Kurenai Sensei? What are you doing here"

There was silence in the room, it wasn't the causal silence that happened between Shino and the rest of the team but a deathing silence. One that would drive even the most experience and brave shinobi to go insane and it was one Alex could not take. However before she could yell out her thoughts Kurenai spoke. It was such a sad voice that dripped with the smothering stench of death and grief.

"Alex Ohitsujiza" It began. Alex knew right off the bat that it was not good when her sensei used her full name.

"I am so sorry to have to tell you this horrible news but your clan was burnt to the ground"

As soon as those words left Kurenai's lips the look in Alex's eyes could of pierced any shield. It was a look of pain, suffering and anger. The clan had fallen and it was all her fault. Her mother and father were dead and the blame was on her shoulders, nothing could of prepared her for that.


	10. Chapter 10

_'The pale skin and rosy cheeks of his comrade was playing tricks on his mind. Alex was always loud and anything but the stereotype for a cute girl but seeing her like this made Shino waver from his emotionless exterior.'_

The news that her clan hadn't just fallen, It had been burnt to a crisp it Alex like a ton of bricks. It turned out that her cousin completed his training and master Ram eclipse among other techniques that were confined to the members of their clan while Alex was on the body guard mission. The news had not gone down well with Alex and it created a anxious attitude towards her.

Although she was still healing from the damage the mission had done to her body, she wasn't one to be sitting around and the news of her clans seemed to snap something inside her that caused her to act even more obnoxious and annoying that usual, at least that what Shino had been saying to his comrades.

Alex stared up at the ceiling with tear stains on her cheeks. The pure white paint she had been staring at for hours was starting to make her feel sick as it reminded her of the ignorance she once had towards her clan but now she was all that was left of the main branch. Well that wasn't true, once the head of the house is taken out, the side branch have the right to become the main branch of the clan. All of this meant that Alex was the sole survivor of the new side branch and that feeling made her physically sick to think about. She couldn't take this anymore, she couldn't take laying here with damage to her chakra networks in her arms and large cuts that were deep enough that if she was to shift her position in a jolting manner it would rip open her wounds and begin to bleed again. Once another visitor session for Alex had with Hinata had finished. That's if you could call Hinata looking increasable worried as she replaced the wilting sunflowers with fresh ones a visitor session. Alex sat up and disconnected the IV drip she had attached to her left arm. The feeling of pulling the needle out of her arm caused a wince on her part but it was nothing compared to the pain that her wounds were inflicting on her fragile body. She had a look around the room and smiled very slightly as she saw her everyday clothes folded neatly on a chair in the corner of the room and knew that Hinata must of placed them there in case she needed them.

Alex shook her head slightly and proceeded to slip on the black shirt and grey jumper onto her body. It hadn't been clear to her but the damage to her body had been more server that she thought as most of her body was covered in bandages. She ignored them and quickly pulled on her trousers and shoes before she was caught out of bed. As she looked around the room she thought about how she was going to get out of the hospital and the only way that came to mind was the window.

"If I use the door, they will catch me, looks like it's the window for me" She nodded to no one but herself and climbed out the window with groans escaping her mouth from the intense pain.

Once she was outside she took a deep breath and sighed gently.

"I've missed that fresh air, now to train" It was clear to her that she wasn't ready to train, however once again she wasn't listening to her own judgement and went along with it anyway. She wasn't able to go very far in her condition and so she used the grass that resided out the hospital as her training ground.

It didn't take her long to summon Shoku, however once Shoku saw her partners condition tears began to brew in her black eyes which caused Alex's heart to feel with guilt.

"Shoku, I'm OK, really" She announced as she picked up Shoku and held her in her arms for a few moments before breaking the silence.

"Let's just training, I won't let father's death be in vein." However when Alex spoke those words sadness flooded her heart. She had tried to leave the grief and pain of her families death out of her head but it was all flooding back to her now. She hoped that they didn't suffer too badly but by the condition that the house was in that didn't seem the case. The house was set on fire and those inside the house were burnt alive with no available exits. As much as she wished that there was some way to bring them back, she knew that wasn't true but Alex knew that her clan would not go down without a fight, which brought the thought of her cousin to her thoughts. He must be really powerful now.

Takeshi was the first born to Susumu, who happened to be the younger brother of Zero Ohitsujiza. With the age gap between Alex and Takeshi being a few months the two were frequently in a family rivalry which steadily grew to the point where the side branch wanted full control of the clan and it's future. Although Alex was strong, it wasn't enough for the intelligence and power that Takeshi possessed, this coupled with the secret jutsu that he seemed to have learnt from his father caused a situation that the main branch couldn't ignore any further. However it seemed even that wasn't enough to stop the side branch of the Ohitsujiza clan from taking control and ridding the world of the main branch, all but Alex.

All of these thoughts of her family caused tears to begin to run back down Alex's already red cheeks. She sat down on the grass and slammed her hands on the grass which caused her a lot of pain to rise up her arm but she didn't care. The pain in her heart was more than she could handle and it made her forget about her physical wounds. Her arms shook with both the pain being shot through her body and the emotions that fought their way to the surface. It all became to much and it seemed this was the only time she would be alone she took the opportunity to cry.

Crying was something she had been conditioned to keep for when she was alone and this was one of the rare times she had on her own for now and she took advantage of it. However as the tears began running down her cheeks like a river she heard footsteps making their way towards her. They were not walking but running and as they came to a halt behind her she froze. The tears and all of her muscle seemed to have just halted in what they were doing. There was no denying the scent of condensed population of bugs that ran through this chunin's body and the fast pounding that began in her chest.

Before speaking, she quickly wiped away the tears that had been falling from her eyes and tried her best to make it look like she hadn't been upset.

"Shino" She said without turning around, trying to bring her eyes of the grass was a hard task. It was as if heavy weights were holding her gaze.

Without a word he sad next to her and stared into the distance. If there was something that he was good at it was silence, but silence from Shino was different that from others. It was almost as if he did his best talking within silence and Alex knew that. Even with his silent presence she began to understand her position more clearly even it the whole picture was still foggy and as much as she wanted to rush into battle with Takeshi, there was no way she would land a hit on him in her current condition.

"Your going back to the hospital"

At his words Alex sighed slightly. In her mind she was debating arguing against him and as soon as she opened her mouth to argue he began to speak again.

"If you argue with me, I'll tell Hinata that you were out here, do you really want to upset her."

"That's cruel" And with a huff Alex but she shook her head

"Not yet" She winced slightly as she stretched her arms in front of her before resting her head on his shoulder which got a fed up 'hm' from Shino but before he could speak up about it she had fallen asleep.

It was clear to Shino that Alex was in a create deal of pain and that she needed to stay in the hospital for longer to heal, however keeping her there would become a problem that non off the team would want to deal with.

Once The sun started to set over the village Shino decided to pick up Alex gently and carry her back to the hospital. It wasn't something he wanted to do, nor was it something he felt he needed to do but she was still a comrade and a friend. There was something about seeing her in this peaceful state that brought Shino's mind into a territory he had not dare enter before. The pale skin and rosy cheeks of his comrade was playing tricks on his mind. Alex was always loud and anything but the stereotype for a cute girl but seeing her like this made Shino waver from his emotionless exterior.

After Alex was back in her room and asleep the rest of the team including Kurenai Sensei gathered outside her room to talk.

Kiba was the first to speak. " Does anyone know what is going on?!"

He was acting a little more obnoxious than usual. Then again they were all trying to keep the stress of the problem from getting to them.

Shino spoke up in his usual tone. " I do"

The whole team looked at him as if he had said something completed inappropriate which caused Kiba to piped up again.

"How do you know and I don't?!"

"My beetles"

Kiba had a look of disgust on his face and before he could say anything else Kurenai had spoken.

"Shino, what ever you know, please tell us. The more information we have about the situation, the earlier we have implement a plan."

"It's not that easy, Kurenai sensei."

It took Shino a couple of hours to relay all of the information about the situation, especially with Kiba constantly asking questions about every detail. More so he was interested in how Shino go the information. However in the end all that mattered was that the whole team knew the situation and wondered how to proceed.


	11. Chapter 11

_"I was kidding, Alex! Come on you know me, believe it!" He laughed awkwardly before a fist made contact with his jaw. The impact was monstrous as he went flying across the grass and landed on his back.' _

The hill that over saw the old home of the Ohitsujiza clan became the home to Alex as she healed. As Kurenai had predicted, she begun to block out the pain by becoming an emotionless husk. Alex spent her days that weren't cooped up in the hospital getting treatment sitting on the hill, against a tree just watching her old home. It was as if she was waiting for something to change within the burnt lifeless house or that she expected her family to appear alive and well. However no-one was able to get any information out of her during this time of her grief.

The only help that the team were able to do is comfort her during this time. Although they were still needed on missions they took it in turns to sit beside Alex and try to wake her up from her emotional cocoon. They all spent their time with Alex in a different way. Hinata would come to her side with sunflowers as she knew these were her favourite flowers.

"Alex, I got you some sunflowers again. I know they are your favourite because they remind you on how brightly people can shine in a short time." It made Hinata sad to see someone so close to her be in such a state but it reminded her that everyone is different.

"I hope you get back to your old self soon, I miss going to the tea shop with you and spending an afternoon laughing away our troubles with freshly brewed tea" She looked up at Alex and sighed, it pained her to see her friend so distant from the real world.

"But that's OK because I know when you come back to us you will make some silly speech about how it has made you stronger and that you will bring pride to yourself and our team, but until then I'll just keep bringing you flowers and tea."

Out of all of her comrades, seeing Alex in this state brought Hinata the most visual pain as she considered Alex her sister. If there were long periods of silence during Hinata's visit she would talk about some of the memories that they shared as kids as a way of trying to wake Alex up to reality.

"Do you remember when we first joined the academy? " Hinata knew that she wouldn't get a respond but she wanted Alex to feel involved.

"I do, I was even more shy back then, but you weren't. You were so brave and confident. I wanted to be just like you and Naruto. you both were so proud of yourselves. I had already known you for a while before we started studying and I knew you'd be a great ninja. You just wanted to protect the village and the people you cared about. Now it's my turn to protect you, Alex. " She grinned at Alex before it slowly turned into a sad smile as she saw the moisture in Alex's eyes.

Hinata knew that Alex was going through some emotional stress along with the physical effects of their last mission. It was easy to see that much but there was more to it than the others could see. After spending so much time with Alex, Hinata knew that her feelings were conflicting after the mission.

She wasn't wrong. It was a battleground inside Alex's head. Part of her was trying to cope with the new found feelings that were still confusing her and there had something to do with Shino. The other half was trying to understand her clan's situation and trying to process that her mother and father were both dead. Along with her physical wounds, she was having a tough time putting all the pieces together which resulted in the exterior of her body becoming a lifeless husk while the interior felt as if it was over exerting itself.

When it was Kiba's turn to visit Alex, it was a different story. As much as he cared for her and wanted her to go back to being the obnoxious and confidence girl who he teased, he didn't know what to do with her in this state and so he just sat beside her and told her about all the adventures that had been going on in the village while Akamaru laid over her feet to keep her company. He also made sure that Shoku had someone looking after her while Alex was like this.

"It's been a strange week I'll tell ya! " Kiba exclaimed as he laid down on grass beside her.

"We've been to and fro from the sand recently. Gaara has us running ragged but he seems to be happy now, although it's hard to tell. He's like Shino in that way" He let out a short chuckle and looked at Alex before sighing.

"It must be a battlefield in that head of yours, huh? I don't know what's going on but you need to fix it and quick. "

When it came to Shino's visits, the majority of it was spend in silence. He would sit beside Alex and either interacting with his bugs or reading. Their time together was very quite until Shino had something to say, which wasn't very often. Even in the state she was, when it came to Shino's time to sit with her, her heart would still race a mile a minute in his presence.

" You need to snap out of this" Shino calmly said as he looked up at the slowly approaching stars. He was right. Alex did need to snap out of this, she knew that herself but it was as if she was stuff in some sort of genjutsu and couldn't move.

"Hinata needs you" He paused slightly as if he wanted to say more but couldn't.

"The village needs you" It became obvious even to Alex that this wasn't what he wanted to say and that drove her crazy. Part of her paralysis was due to his effect on her and this made it even more confusing for her. Everything became even more confusing in her mind.

After another lengthy silence he spoke up again.

"Don't let the pride of your clan die."

This cycle of meetings had only been going on for a few weeks before Naruto turned up at the village after his long training time with what he called the pervy sage but everyone knew him as one of the legendary sage. He was the same as always, sure he may of matured to some degree but he was still the obnoxious boy he always was. Unfortunately for Shino, Kiba and Hinata he had found out about Alex's situation early that they thought he would have and with that the team acted as one to go to her aid. They knew that if he was to reach her without them to supervise him then he would say or do something that may cause an unstable reaction from her. However it seems that they were too late and as they ran up towards the top of the hill they heard yelling from him.

"Come on, Alex! Why are you just sitting there like a potato and not fighting for your clan?!" His voice was a mixture of enthusiasm and anger.

The only reason this got out of Alex was slight shaking on her body as the anger boiled up inside her but this didn't stop him from trying to get her to move.

"You could be out there, training and becoming stronger to get your clan back in order but your just sitting there!"

That had done it. Before Kiba, Hinata or Shino could stop him they were surprised at the reaction from Alex as for the first time in weeks she had shown life. However it wasn't positive as she had slowly stood up and gave him a death glare. With the reaction from Naruto, you would of thought Sakura had been present.

To over come this situation he waved his arms around to calm her down.

"I was kidding, Alex! Come on you know me, believe it!" He laughed awkwardly before a fist made contact with his jaw. The impact was monstrous as he went flying across the grass and landed on his back.

Everyone present was shocked with the reaction and after a few moment Kiba smiled.

"Well at least she's back up and moving." With those words Alex turned around and glared at him before kneeling back down in pain.

With this Hinata ran to her side in aid.

"Alex your not healed yet, be careful. I'm just so glad your back with us" The smile that Hinata had on her face was too much for Alex to argue with and she smiled very slightly.

"If it wasn't for you and the others I don't think I would of been OK. I'm sorry I caused so much trouble for you all. "

"That doesn't matter, what matters is that you are back with us even if your not fully health" Hinata smiled again and helped Alex stand.

It was funny to Alex that even though she caused them so much trouble and pain that they still stuck by her side. That was what made leaf Shinobi so different from the rest, even in the darkest times they pull through for each other because that is their ninja way. Everything was becoming clear to her now. She needed to heal so that she could work on her training and becoming a better ninja than she was but to do that she would need the help of her comrades. The only thing that still alluded her was the feelings towards Shino. Non of it made sense to Alex but her main priority was protecting those who were alive and kicking.

After Alex was back in the hospital for rest of the treatment for her wounds, the team met up in the tea shop to discuss the plan of action to take for the rebuilding of the Ohitsujiza clan.

" I don't know what action Alex wants to take, but what if we just talk to them?" The looks that Hinata got from Kiba were ones amusement.

"Talk? they are not going talk to the sole survivor of the branch they killed"

"But what if we-"

"Hinata, this is serious."

After a minute or so of silence Shino began to talk.

"what if we plan an assault of their household and force them to reconsider?"

And with that the team decided to iron out the details of their plan before retelling it to Alex when she was healed.


	12. Chapter 12

_'Kiba and Hinata looked at each other with a confusing look before glancing at Shino as the black aura surrounded him. It seemed that Shino remembered'_

With the help of Sakura's abilities, Alex was able to heal within a weeks of the plan being calculated and refined. Being restricted to her hospital bed along with the odd trip outside to sit on the grass and drink tea with her team gave her a lot of time to think and review her situation. It had come to her attention that the only difference the incident had made to her life was the holes in left in her heart where he family used to be. The dark gaping hole in her heart was one that could not be healed as if it was one of her physical wounds that were now healed. It would be eternal but it had also giving her the time to grow as a person and a ninja. The time she spent healing gave Alex the needed space to evaluate her behaviour and what she had found was someone she wanted to change.

She had come to realize that her clan was still very important to her, however the fate of the leaf village was even more important to her than that. there wasn't much she would be able to do to take back the main branch of the clan which causing a riot between the branches of the family. Along with that she found to the conclusion that she wouldn't be able to hold onto the main branch on her own. That wasn't to say she was going to let go of her clan. On the contrary she was in the right mind set to carry on the Ohitsujiza name in her own way and one day, when the leaf village was at peace she was determined to pass on her clans abilities and name to her own children and the new generation of brave shinobi.

"There you go,Alex. Your all fixed. Just don't go rushing in like that again" Sakura said with a smile.

"I think we both know that won't happ-" Before Alex was able to finish her sentence there was a knock at the door.

Sakura took off her gloves and placed them in her pocket before walking over to the door and opening it to greet Hinata, Kiba and Shino.

"Looks like I'll be off,bye Alex" As she left the three comrades walked into the room. Hinata walked over to Alex's beside table and replaced the sunflowers like she always did.

"Hinata, I'm all healed. You don't need to do that anymore" Alex said with a smile before stretching her arms out in front of her.

"Oh, so your leaving?"

Alex nodded gently with a big smile on her lips.

"I am, I've been in here too long! I have training and other business to attend to"

It seemed that this was the que they were all waiting for and so Kiba spoke up.

"That's where we jump in! " She beamed as she clapped his hands together.

"We have a plan of action to bring back your clan, all we need to do is infiltrate-"

Before he was able to finish explaining the plan Alex had taking two of her fingers and pushed them into his chest, which caused both silence and a frown from Kiba.

"There's no need for that. Did it not come to your attention that I am one member of the side branch now? With just one of me it would be near impossible to take the main branch back and honestly I've been doing a lot of thinking. " She paused to review her thoughts before continuing.

"As long as I hold onto my side of the clan and continuing to push towards being the shinobi I am content with where I am. Of course I'm still broken from the lose of my mother and father but I still have my friends to keep me grounded. I owe all of you for all of the help you gave me through this." She let a big grin come onto her face as she looked at her friends.

"And in any case, there is something I need to settle."

Kiba and Hinata looked at each other with a confusing look before glancing at Shino as the black aura surrounded him. It seemed that Shino remembered that he had told their sensei and the rest of the team about her clan problems. Although it worked out in the end she wasn't going to let it go.

"What is the punishment?"

"A date" Alex nodded with a sweet smile on her lips.


	13. Epilogue

_'Alex wasn't a sensei to be pushed over and if necessary she would implement stick rules, however the rest of the squad admired her, for both her history and her involvement in the fourth war as both part of the medical core and on the front lines.'_

"Aunt Alex!" a small girl, around the age of five ran at Alex with a wide smile plastered on her face.

As the girl was in was close enough, Alex bent down and swooped the girl up in her arms and span her around before speaking to her.

"Why hello there, little Himawari**. **How is my favourite niece?"

But I'm your only niece!" She let out a little giggle.

"That is true and that is why you are my favourite!" Alex kissed her cheek gently before putting her back on the ground and turning to Hinata.

"Hello, Alex. Perfect timing, would you like to come in for some tea?"

Alex stretched out her arms gently and gazed over to her watch on her wrist that had been giving to her by Shino on their sixth anniversary of being together. It's funny how time flies by without a trace. It had been over thirteen years since the end of the fourth war and seven years since Shino and Alex had declared their love for each other. A lot had changed in those thirteen years.

" Just a quick one, that trip to the sand really wiped it out of me and to put up with your hyperactive son in training tomorrow will take all my energy" Alex let out a loud laugh before following Hinata into the house.

"I'm sorry he's such a handful, he's just like his father."

"That he is, Hinata. Not to worry you know I am a strict sensei. It helps that the other members of team three keep him in check."

"Well what do you expect from Lee's Son and Sarada Uchiha?"

"Very true, but we all know it's easy for me to keep them in check, I'm not a push over" As Alex let out a loud laugh she settle down in on of the comfy chairs with a relieving sigh.

"Ah, now that's a good seat. I really need this. The mission with the sand took longer than I would of cared for it to be. I've been away from Shino and Gesshoku for over a week now."

Hinata sat down on the chair opposite her and put the freshly brewed tea on the coffee table.

"Oh yes how is dear Shino?"

Alex's eyes suddenly brightened up as she spoke.

"He is great, the kids at the academy still give him a bad time but knowing him he probably scared them with his bugs" She let out a little laugh.

"But we are still very happy."

"And what about the marriage deal?

Alex looked at Hinata and shook her head.

"I know we are the only one's who haven't tied the knot, but you know us, it's just not for us. We are happy just being a family without the silly papers." She nodded and picked up her cup. She took a sip before adding.

"And we have Gesshoku, I don't need anything else.

Hinata stumbled slightly with her words. "I'm sorry but speaking of Gesshoku, how is he?"

" Just like his father, of course you know that he took Shino's clan destiny when he was born. I'm so proud of him for being able to walk in Shino's footsteps. " Alex took another sip before smiling slightly.

"But that doesn't matter, I still have time to pass my kekki genki on. I'm not that old yet!"

They both had a long laugh. With all the word Alex had been doing in the Sand, she hadn't had much time for catching up with Hinata as much as they used to. There were a few moments silence before Hinata spoke up again.

"Sometimes I miss when we were just teenagers trying to find ways to protect what we loved."

Alex put her empty cup down on the table and nodded at Hinata.

"I agree, back then I was obnoxious and bossy. I mean don't get me wrong, I still am quick tempered but I have a team to lead and train. I do miss our missions and being able to train beside each other. Although, I wouldn't trade what I have now for anything. All those years I didn't know what I wanted until that Guarding mission and now I have a family and amazing friends like you" Alex smiled at her and stood up.

"I'm sorry, Hinata but I mustn't stay any longer, the academy must of finished by now which means Shino and Gesshoku will be home, they must miss me as much as I missed them.

Hinata nodded and smiled before giving Alex a big hug.

"Don't forget to drop bye soon."

"Will d-" Before Alex could finish her sentence Himawari had ran at her and leaped at her. Luckily Alex caught her with her quick reactions.

" Himawari!" Alex smiled and held the small girl in her arms.

"Don't leave!"

"I'll be back soon, I promise and you promise me that you will be a good girl and I will come back more often." She nodded quickly and with that Alex put her down and left the house.

As Alex walked along the peaceful paths that led her to her home, she thought about how her along with her friends lives had changed in the last thirteen years. Naruto had become the seventh Hokage after been giving the job once Kakashi had retired. Along with that he married Hinata and had two children: Boruto and Himawari. Boruto was like his father in many ways, he was energetic and a pain during training. Alex spent much of her time being his sensei by punishing him for his bad behaviour. This normally consisted of either of him getting tied to a tree for a few hours or if she couldn't be bothered with his attitude sending him to his father for punishment. Alex wasn't a sensei to be pushed over and if necessary she would implement stick rules, however the rest of the squad admired her, for both her history and her involvement in the fourth war as both part of the medical core and on the front lines.

Himawari was different from her brother and took after her mother. She was a sweet girl that had got used to calling Alex her aunt early on. This didn't bother Alex as she had wanted a daughter of her own and it make her feel involved in the little girls life. Hinata had told Alex on several occasions that Himawari looked up to her, which brought happiness into her heart. With everything that happened in the past for the friends, it was a different pace of life than it was when they were young ninja's but non of them would change it for the world.

One of the biggest changes in Alex's life was the balance of keeping both the Ohitsujiza and Aburame clan's stable. It was a difficult feat but with their son holding the traits of the Aburame clan, all that was to do was secure the Ohitsujiza clan's future but they both knew that could wait. Alex was just proud that her son was able to follow in his fathers footsteps in more ways that one. Not only did Gesshoku have the traits of the Aburame clan but he also took after Shino with his glasses. Alex made a point of making sure that they both took of their glasses when they were inside the household. As much as she didn't mind that they felt better with them on, she loved them when they showed their eyes. This started when she saw Shino's eyes for the first time during their guarding mission. His eyes were so intense and they showed his true emotions even when his voice didn't that she got attach to seeing them and felt more comfortable if she could see the emotion in her partners eyes.

Her thoughts enveloped her to the point were she didn't realize she was already standing in their hall way. With that she shook her head quickly and slipped off her shoes. Alex stretched again before making her way into their living room and sitting down on their sofa. She glanced over at the coffee table and saw a steaming cup of tea already sitting there, waiting for her.

'Shino must already be home then' She thought as she smiled and picked up the cup to take a sip. She placed it back down before standing to look for him, however she didn't get out of the room before he walked in with his glasses on non the less. Before he could say or do anything she gave him a stern look.

"Glasses" She shook her head with a little chuckle before reaching up and slowly lifting his glasses of his eyes and placing them down on the table.

She stood there for a few moments, gazing into his eyes. It didn't matter how much time went by, his eyes still captivated her as much as they did on the first day she realized her undying love for him. She must have been gazing into his eyes for quite a while as before she knew it she had felt his soft lips on hers. It didn't matter how long they had been together, his touch still sent butterflies to her stomach. As she pulled away, a smirk made it's way onto her lips.

"That's a good hello." She pecked his lips once more before sitting back down on the sofa.

"That mission took longer than you expected?" She was used to his blunt words and selective hearing by now.

"Yes, the sand is a busy place at the moment but it's all over now and I have tonight as rest until I resume my duties as team three's sensei."

"Then you can introduce Gesshoku to your keeki genkki. I think he needs to be introduce to the other side of his heritage. It could become useful in the future." Shino stated as she sat beside Alex and put his arm around her.

With this Alex nodded "I agree, although he may not be able to use it due to the traits he got from your clan, I would like him to understand my clans ways and how we use the Ram Eclipse in battle. Maybe if we have another child in the future then they would be able to carry on my clans legacy. "

"That would be excellent. "

"Oh before I forget, Hinata was talking about marriage again" Alex laughed slightly and rolled her eyes.

"She really will not give it up, it suits her and Naruto but I just don't see the need for us to marry."

"Correct, why does she keep pushing it?"

"Oh she's just a sensitive friend, Shino. I just think that she would love to see us married but that's not us and besides I'm too busy being an awesome ninja" Alex laughed and punched the air a few times. Though out all the years of maturing, she still hadn't lost some of the her childish behaviour.

Shino chuckled slightly and nodded at her statement. It was a surprise to him and others that they had both come this far into their relationship without needing to marry. Although it was a nice thought they both just didn't feel they had to get married. It was more of Alex's idea than anything and after Seven of being together, they didn't really care that much. They were a family and that's all that mattered. It came to Alex mind many times throughout their relationship, and as much as she had day dreams of walking down the aisle to pledge her life to Shino, it wasn't in their best interest. Alex was a busy sensei and protector of the leaf village, while Shino was busy as a teacher for all the new wannabe ninja at the academy.

No matter how it was put, there was peace in the Hidden Leaf Village and no one would have it any other way.


End file.
